


Always By Your Side

by moshiznik



Category: SHINee
Genre: Band Fic, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-29 09:40:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7679479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moshiznik/pseuds/moshiznik
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kibum is maybe a little infatuated with his bandmate. Minho is maybe a little possessive of his best friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Infatuated

It had been a while since Kibum had had the luxury of visiting the mall. Given the teen’s status as a trainee with SM, all of his time not in school was devoted to long practice sessions that made his body sore and his voice hoarse all in hopes that one day he would become a star.

 

He aimlessly followed after the small group he had come with, not really interested in the stores they were drawn to but not wanting to venture off on his own. It was precisely that moment that something – or someone – caught Kibum’s eye and he lost all sense of his surroundings.

 

“Yah, Kibum-ssi!” one of the other teens huffed, shoving Kibum away as he had so rudely walked right into them. The shove was enough to break through Kibum’s stare, but his heart was still hammering in his chest and his hands were sweaty.

 

He had known about his sexuality from a young age, but never had he been so distracted by a boy before. Kibum wouldn’t even call him cute, he was… breathtaking. Distractingly so. The boy seemed to be about Kibum’s age and had big eyes that should have made him look awkward but somehow fit his face. His other features came together to make him more handsome than he should have the right to be. His black hair was a little on the shaggy side and he seemed to be athletic if his toned calves had anything to say about it.

 

“Kibum-ssi,” the manager startled him from his staring and he looked up at the older man. “What’re you looking at?” he asked under his breath, turning to see what had caught the teen’s gaze and almost doing a double take once he saw the boy.

 

“You kids stay here, okay? I’ll be right back.” And with that, the manager was rushing through the crowded mall until he was standing right in front of the boy, talking excitedly as if he had found a prize.

 

Kibum tried not to blush when the boy looked back at their little group and the manager waved excitedly to them, but he didn’t think he was successful as a bright smile spread across the boys’ face and their eyes connected, if only for a moment. The manager handed him a card before making his way back over to their little group, a large smile on his own face as he hurriedly called someone and started talking animatedly.

 

“You won’t believe what just happened! I think I’ve found our missing element for the 5-member group… Yes! He’s perfect, I’m telling you. …Yep he’s got my card and promised to call when he spoke to his parents….”

 

~

 

“Kibum-ah, what if we don’t get put into the same group?” Minho whispered late one night as they were stretching after a long day of practice. Kibum rolled his eyes and tried desperately not to show that he was just as worried. Ever since the boy he had admired from afar in the mall had shown up to begin training as an SM rookie, Kibum had stayed up each night worrying about exactly the same thing.

 

“Don’t worry, Minho-yah. We’ll still be friends.” He kept his voice soft, leaning his shoulder into the taller boy’s to provide some comfort, when in reality Kibum was afraid his voice would crack if he spoke at a normal volume and he was the one seeking out comfort from the other.

 

Surprisingly enough, Minho was shy and didn’t feel comfortable with some of the other trainees, but he felt comfortable with Kibum. But that was okay, because Kibum felt the most comfortable with him too.

 

“Hyung…” Minho said, stirring emotions deep within Kibum’s chest, “do you…do you really think so?”

 

Kibum took in Minho’s worried gaze, his teeth were chewing at his plush bottom lip and his forehead was crinkled in concern. Kibum had to physically restrain himself from reaching forward to brush a hand over his cheek, from kissing that worried look off of his face so that he would never have to see it again. But that wasn’t what Minho wanted, that was what Kibum wanted. And he would never be able to act on it.

 

“Of course, Minho-goon,” he chuckled softly, jamming his elbow lightly into the younger’s ribcage. Minho groaned at the impact, playfully butting his head against Kibum’s as the two began to wrestle. Kibum fought back with all his might, not wanting to seem inferior, but inevitably Minho won and Kibum was pinned to the floor.

 

A smile spread across his face and Kibum stopped laughing, his breath stolen from him as Minho leaned down and whispered in his ear, “Good,” before rolling off and laying next to him on the floor.

 

Kibum didn’t think he could move.

 

~

 

Kibum watched interview after interview on his laptop, telling himself – and anyone that asked - that he wanted to make sure his answers sounded good and he looked okay. In reality, he was too busy watching Minho in each interview to even pretend to know what he was doing in them.

 

Minho really had been the missing element to their little group – not that Kibum had known what SHINee was before that fateful day in the mall – but he was the flaming charisma that they needed. And everyone loved him. Everyone.

 

Kibum scrolled through fan blogs and videos, all of which honed in on Minho and his ridiculously dorky smile and his grossly handsome face.

 

What Kibum didn’t know was that there were plenty of fans for the rest of them, he was just too blindsided by his own infatuation to even bother looking for those videos.

 

~

 

Kibum was sitting to the side of the stage taking a break before their next rehearsal when Minho sat down next to him. Jonghyun and Jinki were messing around behind the stage and Taemin was off doing whatever it was that Taemin did, and Kibum relished the few moments alone that he would have but also cursed the frog-eyed boy next to him.

 

Minho, oblivious to the emotions raging through Kibum’s body at their close proximity, leaned heavily into him without saying a word. This was happening more and more regularly but Kibum was fighting desperately to not make more of it than he should. He had finally admitted to himself, and his grandmother during their last phone call, that he was infatuated with his best friend. Infatuated, in love with, same difference. And it was slowly killing him.

 

The choreographer called out to Minho and he stood up, using Kibum’s thigh as leverage and making him suck in his breath. Now it wasn’t just raging emotions that were tearing through his body, but he had a growing erection to deal with too.

 

Cursing Minho under his breath, he shifted uncomfortably as he watched him work with the choreographer to go over some new moves for their performance. His shirt was drenched in sweat and showed every hard line of his body. Kibum tried not to stare but was woefully unsuccessful. Soon Taemin joined Minho and the two were laughing, joking together about new moves and who knew what else.

 

A small flash of something struck through Kibum’s heart but he brushed it off. He needed to get over his infatuation with a certain frog-eyed boy before anything serious happened and he ruined their friendship and their careers.


	2. Possessive

Minho knew that Kibum was avoiding him, but he didn’t know why. Every time he walked into their dorm Kibum would make up some lame excuse and scurry into the bathroom or his bedroom. After the first few times, Minho had begun to worry that something else was going on, but after not really speaking with his best friend for more than a week, he knew something was going on.

 

The thought that Kibum didn’t want to spend time with him made Minho question everything he had done or said in the past few weeks. He knew that Kibum tended to be sensitive but maybe Minho had done something to actually upset him? The thought gnawed at him as he lay awake at night, fighting the urge to jump into bed with Kibum and demand the truth. But he couldn’t do that.

 

Ever since their trainee days there had been an unspoken rule that they were close but not too close. When Kibum had confided in him that he was gay, Minho had been bursting to say something but the look of worry in Kibum’s eyes was enough to keep his own confession at bay and reassure his friend that he still loved him.

 

Because he did. Minho loved Kibum with all his heart. But Kibum was blissfully unaware.

 

~

 

Jonghyun was starting to get on Minho’s nerves. Sure he and Kibum had always been friendly but this whole best friend act was getting really old really quickly.

 

Minho ignored Jinki’s observant stare as he glared at the two boys, his frown increasing with every touch and every laugh until he stormed out of whatever room they were in.

 

Minho didn’t see the glances Kibum snuck as he left, didn’t see the immediate shift in his demeanor as he too slunk away from the other boys.

 

Neither of them saw the knowing looks that passed between Jonghyun and Jinki.

 

~

 

When the company announced that they were going on a vacation, individually, Minho was both excited and upset. He didn’t really get to spend any time with Kibum anymore, so a vacation would have been the perfect opportunity except now they couldn’t even go together.

 

Later, when Kibum announced that he was going to London for some fashion thing, Minho made sure to put up a show about how he didn’t want to go to the same place, but he knew Jinki could see right through him.

 

~

 

“Find your own train!” Minho barked at Kibum, beyond aggravated with the whole situation. Who knew that a vacation for just them would be filled with so many people? He was growing more and more agitated as the time that he should have been able to speak with Kibum alone was stolen away by the millions of staff members constantly hanging out with them. It didn’t help that Kibum seemed perfectly content with their arrangement.

 

Minho didn’t like the way that Kibum actually seemed excited to go off and do his fashion thing. Minho also didn’t like the way that Kibum was giving him mixed signals as he said he wanted to go off on his own but refused to leave him alone.

 

The eventually found themselves at a restaurant and Minho tried not to fawn over the cute way Kibum was acting. He absolutely hated how annoying the other could be but he also loved every cute expression and needy whine that came out of those bow-shaped lips. Their pizza finally came and Minho watched fondly as Kibum tried to talk to the cameras and cut it but failed miserably. Reaching over with a sigh, Minho took the serving utensil to cut it for him.

 

He tried not to blush as one of Kibum’s hands snuck out to briefly squeeze his thigh under the table in a small gesture of thanks, even though he felt his cheeks redden and his pants tighten at the gesture.

 

Minho shifted in his seat, silently cursing his best friend as his attention returned to the camera crew and the staff they were with. Why was it that Minho was the only one affected by the other’s presence?

 

~

 

Deciding that he needed to shake off whatever funk he was in with Kibum, Minho decided to try another tactic aside from sitting at home and pouting. He decided to give Kibum a taste of his own medicine.

 

The fans began calling him a hyung-whore soon after this newfound decision and he hoped that Kibum, in his endless searching of their promotions, stumbled across it and got a little taste of what Minho had to deal with with all of this jongkey business. It was enough to see the two getting closer in his daily life, it was overkill to read about it all over the fan sites.

 

His heart sank after a few weeks and nothing changed. If anything, Kibum seemed even more distant.

 

~

 

Minho sat eagerly in front of the TV as his drama came on. The members were all huddled around him, showing their support as they had been since it first aired. Kibum, to Minho’s surprise, was nestled next to him on the couch, a few sojus making him sleepy and more snuggly than he usually was. Minho ignored the looks that the other three gave them as the commercial ended and they returned to a scene with him and Sulli.

 

Kibum shifted next to him and Minho’s attention shifted from the scene to his friend. The soft glow of the TV highlighted Kibum’s features perfectly and he resisted reaching out a hand to brush his bangs out of his eyes. Something on the screen made Kibum scoff and before Minho knew what was happening, he was standing up and walking quickly to his bedroom. Minho, who had apparently been leaning into Kibum, fell onto the empty space next to him and stared after Kibum, confused by his sudden disappearance and hurt that he didn’t like his drama.

 

Jonghyun stood up before Minho could and followed after Kibum. A familiar ache passed through his body but he shook it off, returning his attention to his drama and ignoring the two concerned faces that were watching him closely.

 

The shorter man returned a few minutes later, muttering something but Minho ignored it, pretending to be engrossed in the drama even though his stomach was churning and he felt that his heart was going to explode in his chest. Why the hell did Jonghyun get to comfort Kibum. That was his job. Minho was Kibum’s best friend, not Jonghyun. Or at least, he used to be…

 

~

 

“Oh my god, Minho!” Kibum squeaked out as Minho grabbed him roughly by the arm and hauled him away from the set. They were on a talk show and had been taking a short break but Minho couldn’t stand it anymore.

 

Shoving Kibum into their changing room, he locked the door behind them and turned to find a red-faced Kibum staring desperately at anything but him.

 

“What is your problem?” he huffed, still not meeting Minho’s intense gaze.

 

“My problem? What is your problem? You think you can just…just ignore me for months and then use some aegyo and…” but Minho didn’t know what else to say and feared that he had given too much away already.

 

“I haven’t been ignoring you…” Kibum spoke softly yet firmly, his eyes finally meeting Minho’s so that he could see the pure look of determination on his face as if he had to convince himself and Minho that he wasn’t lying.

 

Minho felt his eyes water and before he could help it, he was crying. Everything he had been feeling, all of the hurt and the turmoil, broke through his wall of control as he was confronted with that gaze and the reality that Kibum really didn’t want to spend time with him.

 

“Minho?” Kibum asked, unused to seeing the other cry so openly. Minho turned around so that he no longer had to look at the other boy and tried to get his emotions under control.

 

“…Minho-yah…what’s wrong?” Kibum asked, his own voice shaky and a sure sign that he was crying too. Minho said nothing as a new wave of tears rolled down his face with the knowledge that he had made Kibum cry. This wasn’t what was supposed to happen.

 

Kibum came up behind him and wrapped his arms around his chest and hugged him, both of them crying. Minho grasped at Kibum’s strong arms as his body shook, turning in his embrace and leaning into his best friend until Kibum was walking them backwards. Kibum sat down on the couch and pulled Minho onto his lap, stroking his back soothingly as he clung to Kibum’s neck.

 

“I’m sorry, Minho-yah. I won’t…I won’t do that anymore, okay?” Kibum finally whispered, kissing Minho’s forehead softly as their tears both subsided.

 

A loud pounding on the door made them both jump and Kibum chuckled. Their eyes met and Minho’s heart thudded in his ears as Kibum wiped the tears off of his face and leaned in until their noses were touching. Minho licked his lips, itching to kiss the other but afraid that his feelings would be rejected. Kibum moaned, his eyes following the path that Minho’s tongue had made before he crashed their lips together.

 

~

 

Minho watched from the couch with barely-veiled jealousy as Kibum greeted his dogs after being gone all day. The two puppies were jumping all over their master as he kicked off his shoes and finally sat on the floor with them so that they could lick his face.

 

Kibum glanced up from his place on the floor and smiled at the pout on Minho’s beautiful face, winking at his boyfriend before he stood up and held both puppies in his arms.

 

Sitting on the opposite end of the couch, he set down the dogs and chuckled as Minho glared at him. Minho knew exactly what Kibum was trying to do but he refused to let the other win. When Kibum finally brought his legs up onto the couch to stretch out and poke his feet teasingly on Minho’s thigh, Minho grabbed them and yanked until Kibum was spluttering and sitting awkwardly in his lap.

 

“Yah!” His angry screech was cut off with a sweet kiss and Minho smiled into the sigh that left his boyfriend’s lips.

 

“Can’t you two get a room?!” Taemin yelled as he and Jinki left the living room, Jonghyun choosing to ignore them from his place in their massage chair as he flipped through the channels lazily.

 

Kibum blushed but Minho refused to let him wiggle away. Minho grunted softly as Kibum pinched his side and leaned up, licking his earlobe until he could whisper in his ear, sending shivers down Minho’s spine as he spelled out just what he wanted to do to Minho. Minho stood up abruptly and hauled Kibum off to their room.

 

There was no way he was going to share his Kibum with anyone, not anymore.


End file.
